I suspect you'll essentially be comparing the costs of the uCs themselves, everything else is probably common to both.

The AP7000 is more expensive than it needs to be with the LCDC and ISI etc. The AP7004 should fit the bill perfectly when it comes out, but $(DEITY) knows when that will be. Given that, I reckon there will be a few dollars more in an AP7000 than the equivalent ARM processor.

What would an equivalent ARM be -- with two integrated Ethernet controllers? Intel's IXP 425 has two Ethernet links, and Digikey lists them at $21.50 (Q1000, 266 MHz), which is much more than an at32ap7000 costs there ($10/unit going by Q100 prices). But that includes PCI support, and the units are otherwise not entirely comparable.

There's the argument that clock-for-clock AVR32 is more powerful, making comparison tricky. Plus, given two otherwise-identical ARM and AVR32 SOCs, the ARM will cost more because of IP licencing fees that must be sent to ARM Ltd. ...

Ok, let me rephrase the question. There's a product I'm developing that could use an AP7000 with the ISI and maybe LCDC. In quantities of hundreds it's probably best to try to use the NGW as a drop-in module. But after some thousands of units it should be possible to manufacture a board with a similar selection of components for less than $89... I'm just trying to figure out where the breakeven is.

Start looking up components on Digikey. They carry all of the parts used in the NGW100, and the schematics are publicly available, so it's just a matter of applied elbow grease to arrive at the estimated BOM cost.

Same situation for PCB production and assembly. Measure the board (it appears to have six layers, but your design might be able to get away with four) and call for quotes.

Thanks, your kind of wild guess is what I was looking for, and pretty much confirms my estimates.

Regarding pricing on DigiKey it can be very misleading. For example, we buy SMA connectors or LCD character modules at a fraction of the best price shown at DigiKey, and that's not in very high volumes. I guess it depends very much on the part and whether it is more or less a commodity part or whether it has to be from a specific manufacturer.

Same situation for PCB production and assembly. Measure the board (it appears to have six layers, but your design might be able to get away with four) and call for quotes.

My unlimited respect to someone who can route out the EBI, 2xMAC, LCDC, ISI on 4 layers, I certainly couldn't ;)

RayKAvr wrote:

Regarding pricing on DigiKey it can be very misleading. For example, we buy SMA connectors or LCD character modules at a fraction of the best price shown at DigiKey, and that's not in very high volumes.

Indeed. I find a better strategy is to make a preliminary BOM and fire it off to your suppliers complete. Most of them will be happy to go through and quote on each item. Failing that there are a number of free parts-sourcing agencies (here in Aus at least) who will take your BOM and get the best prices they can. They get a commission from the suppliers for sending business their way but despite this potential conflict of interest, most often they do a very good job.